Let’s talk bookish ➙ 1st or 3rd person POV?
Good morning, Everyone!
Let’s Talk Bookish is a bookish meme that was created by Rukky @ Eternity books where each Friday, bloggers write posts discussing the topic of the week! Since the beginning of April, the meme has been taken over by Aria @ Book Nook Bits; She also created the pretty new graphics!
❀ June 10: Do you prefer first or third person narration? (Mikaela @ Mikaela Reads)
Prompts: What kinds of narration do you prefer? First person? Third person objective? Third person omniscient? Third person limited? What are the pros and cons of different kinds of narration?
* Third person objective: The facts of a narrative are reported by a seemingly neutral, impersonal observer or recorder. | Third person omniscient: An all-knowing narrator not only reports the facts but may also interpret events and relate the thoughts and feelings of any character. | Third person limited: A narrator reports the facts and interprets events from the perspective of a single character.
When i’m reading, I like to see myself as the MC – so I gotta say my absolute favorite has to be the 1st person POV. It’s easy for me to relate to the character so much more when they are telling their story… my absolute favorite being when we’re having a dual POV where both MCs are writing in 1st person.
Romance is one genre that is particlarly nice to be written that way; as a reader, we can be in on both characters feelings.. when the other person doesn’t know it yet. It creates that kind of trepidation of knowing the behind the scenes, but also the frustration when there’s a misscommunication or they just- won’t admit it already!! The famous trope of “everybody knows but them”.
Non-fiction is another good one, especially self-help in relation to mental health. I love reading biographies like “Reasons to stay alive” & “Hello I wanna die please help me” where the author tells us about their own story & struggles. It feels so personnal, like chatting over coffee with them- and usually they share some facts about it or even tips on how they managed theirs so it can help you aswell.
When not in 1st POV, third person limited is usually what i’d pick. It’s not anything that I do consciously- but when looking at the books i’ve read, it’s the two main narrations that comes out. While it’s not a favorite like the first POV, it’s okay.. I can still enjoy the story the same way as I would with my preffered narration.
“Anxious people” was one of the few i’ve read with a third-person omnicient; and it had been really well done! I loved it so much.
Which one do you tend to pick up?
do you enjoy one more than the other?
4 thoughts on “Let’s talk bookish ➙ 1st or 3rd person POV?”
Comments are closed.
Ooh I’ve never actually considered which I prefer out of these before. I enjoy both and don’t tend to lean towards one or the other when I’m actually choosing books. I think I like the 3rd person aspect of the facts being neutral and how sometimes we, the reader, know what’s going on but the characters don’t.
Ah that’s interresting.. Yes, i love that too! However nothing beats being in the head of our main characters for me
Ooh this was a really interesting read! I think I’d have to agree with you, first person always helps with developing that connection with the character and I love contemporaries with a dual first person POV, they’re always so much fun! Thank you so much for sharing.
Yess!! Dual-pov are my cryptonite 🥰🥰 however, if we get more than 3, it tend to be too much and I get lost … the night circus specifically had way too many POVs to where I didnt knew what I was reading in the middle of it 😅